BATSMAN LUMB TO RETIRE

Nottinghamshire batsman Michael Lumb has been forced to retire with immediate effect because of an ankle injury.

Lumb moved to Trent Bridge from Hampshire in 2012, having started out at Yorkshire, the county club of his father, Richard.

The South African-born player has appeared regularly and scored freely across all forms of cricket for the Club since then, helping the Notts Outlaws win the Yorkshire Bank 40 and Royal London One-Day Cup trophies in 2013 and 2017 respectively.

In First-Class cricket, Lumb has amassed more than 11,000 runs in 210 matches, with his career-best 221 not out coming for Nottinghamshire against Derbyshire at Trent Bridge in 2013.

His domestic one-day career has seen him score more than 11,500 runs, including in excess of 6,500 in List A games and almost 5,000 in T20.

Until beaten by teammate Alex Hales in this year's RL Final, Lumb had hit the Club’s highest ever List A score of 184 against Northamptonshire at Trent Bridge in 2016 and his one-day prowess also saw him recruited to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL).

On the international stage, he won the World Twenty20 tournament with England in the West Indies in 2010 and played 27 T20 internationals in total.

Lumb was also selected for three One-Day Internationals, scoring 106 against the West Indies on his debut in 2014.

“I have had the best time at Trent Bridge, in my view the most productive years of my career, and Nottinghamshire is the club I have most enjoyed playing for,” he said.

“I’m extremely disappointed I’ve had to retire from cricket, particularly in the middle of the season, but I have to respect medical opinion.

“I would like to thank all my teammates, the coaching staff and everyone else at the Club for making my stay at Nottinghamshire such a memorable one. Those sentiments also go to everybody at both Yorkshire and Hampshire, who have made my career so enjoyable.

“Last, but by no means least, I couldn’t have achieved what I have without the total support of my wife Lizzie and all the rest of my family.”

Director of Cricket, Mick Newell, said: “It’s very sad news for Michael. He’s a hugely talented batsman that has entertained cricket followers all over the world. He’s a great role model to others and a superb professional.”

“Michael is an immensely popular senior player in the dressing room and highly respected for what he has achieved during his career. We wish him every success and thank him for all he has contributed to the Club.”